COPACABANA

Any production that combines youth with enthusiasm, energy and a sense of fun promises to wow an audience and the offering here was no exception.

Set around the famous Copacabana Night Club the lack of an in depth plot and little high drama was more than offset by energetic dancing, dazzling costumes and great music though anyone familiar with the prolific  composers work could be forgiven for being disappointed at  Barry Manilow  choosing to exclude many of his memorable numbers in this his headline musical.

There though any negatives finish and this fine company deserve huge congratulations for staging a fast moving exciting show displaying to the full the enormous talent in a society that not surprisingly has an extensive waiting list for eligible youngsters eager to join them.

Performing during a pleasing overture and leading to the opening scene the company with much panache performed one of many skilled pieces of choreography moved effortlessly from scene to scene including young men in a slick cane routine quickly followed by an excellent and first appearance of Tiller Girls – for those of us who can remember – type line up.

Young wanabee star Lola La ma / Samantha, delightfully played by Molly Holder in her first main role for WODYS, has arrived in New York from Tulsa determined to make it as a 'Copa' girl at the famous club. Her lack of audition success singing “Man Wanted” leads to meeting Tony/Stephen (Dan Hooper) the charmingly played bar keeper-cum-songwriter who falls in love with her and becomes her song coach.

Lola manages to get an audition with the grumpy owner of the club Sam Silver (Greg Bytheway) and gets the job. As a naive beginner she is helped by Gladys Murphy ( Cerys Jones)  in a brilliantly characterised performance of the one-time Copa girl, now reduced to selling cigarettes and cigars.

Peace and harmony is interrupted by the emergence of notorious gang mobster Rico (Matthew Emeny) in an outstanding performance, who arrives in New York and immediately falls in love with Lola, seeing her as a replacement for the exotic but aging Conchita (Olivia Jones) - in her first year with WODYS with a superb performance as the once star of the Tropicana in Havana.

Rico drugs Lola, whom he kidnaps and flies her to Havana where he seduces her. Now the replacement for Conchita who is forced to teach her own routine to Lola, much against her will.

Tony and Sam, now in Cuba, find Conchita and ask her for her help. She agrees, and pretends to guide Lola to become her replacement, while telling her to play along. Near the end of the Tropicana performance of "El Bravo “, in a stunning costume set  Tony runs on stage, reunited with Lola once again. Rico is close behind, waving a gun, and points the barrel at Tony. A single gunshot is heard, and Rico falls to the floor. Conchita, saving Tony and Lola from the perils she faced for years, shot her love Rico to his death.

Tony and Lola are finally reunited and go back happily to the Copacabana.

Back in the present, Stephen has finished his song. His wife, Samantha, is urging him to dress for their anniversary dinner. Stephen realizes that Lola was simply an incarnation of his wife, and finds he has a new sense of love for her. Her parents, who were the base for the characters Sam and Gladys, also appear, and he realizes his imagination had simply morphed reality into something a bit more elaborate.

There is certainly a real feel-good factor in this spectacular musical from the whole cast who were delightful to watch.

Sassy choreography and direction and an array of gorgeous costumes with the most highly imaginative colour co-ordination in nearly every scene just enhanced the whole production.

The welcome and wonderful hospitality were an additional bonus. But above all for sheer entertainment value this was of the highest quality and most effectively recreated the period of New York and Cuba in the 1940's with style and great effect.

Ian G Cox

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